Masquerade!
by purtyinpink71121
Summary: Lily is invited to the Worthington Masquerade Ball, a summer ball held for the most talented wizards in Europe. Little does she know James is invited too and he has a plan to get her. But sometimes plans dont work, and fate must step in. R&R! COMPLETE
1. Invitations

**Masquerade!**

**Chapter One: Invitations**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything except the Worthington Masquerade ball and Jasmine Stagamonte. Yeahh... sad eh?

**A/N: **ANOTHER NEW STORY! WOOT! So yepp, I was definitely listening to the song Masquerade when I wrote this story, and I'm still listening to it now, haha. Phantom of the Opera rocks my sockerz off! Woo hoo! So anyway... I'm on chapter 4 of this now, and since it'll only be 5 chapters anyway I figured I should post it. So review and I shall update soon! Because I've got the next chapter done. So yes. Read and review kiddies!

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**Lily's P.O.V.**

60 invitations. 60 invitations were sent out that summer to talented witches and wizards throughout Europe. 60 invitations to a Masquerade ball held for only the brightest students. Only 60, and I am holding one of them in my hands.

**Dear Miss Evans,**

**I am pleased to inform you that you have been invited to come to the Worthington Masquerade ball. This is an annual ball that has been held every year for the past 34 years for the 60 brightest witches and wizards of the time. It is held only for students who will be entering their final year at their respective wizarding school, with students ranging from 16 to 19 years old. Countries where the students will be coming from include, but are not limited to, Great Brittan, France, Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Spain, and Italy. This is a great opportunity to step outside of your normal routine and make connections with people in other wizarding communities throughout Europe. The ball will take place on July 26 from 7:00 to midnight at the English ministry of magic, in the department of international magical cooperation. Please send an owl with your reply by June 30th. You will be contacted with details on appropriate attire and travel information if you are able to attend. Have a nice holiday.**

**Jasmine Stagamonte**

**Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation**

I stare at the invitation in my hands unbelievingly. Am I really one of the 60 brightest magical students in all of Europe? I mean sure, I had gotten perfect scores on my OWLs, as well as almost every exam I had taken since entering Hogwarts (the exception being an E in Divination 3rd year. I dropped that course). But in all of Europe?

Well, I suppose there is no use arguing with them now. I have the invitation, and that is all that matters. This ball really sounds like a cool event. There will be people there from all over! Denmark? Ireland? France? Wouldn't it be amazing to meet someone from another country like that?

I scan the letter one more time before jumping off of my bed and running down the stairs.

"Mom! Dad! Look what I've got!" I say as I dash into the living room. Mom isn't there, but Dad is. He is reading the paper, just as I suspected he would be. Throughout my entire childhood, he could always be found sitting in the living room reading the paper on Sunday mornings. He told me that it payed off to be aware of what is going on in the world. I used to sit on his lap and read with him when I was little. Perhaps that is where I got my love of reading from.

"What is it darling?" He asks, folding the paper and setting it down on the table in front of him. I take a seat on the couch next to him.

"Here, read it!" I say, thrusting the invitation into his hands. He reads it and just as he is about finished my mother comes hurrying into the room, drying her hands off on the apron around her waist.

"What is going on, Lily? Is something wrong?" she asks.

"Not at all," I say, "You can read the invitation after dad is finished.

"Invitation?" She asks. However, before I have a chance to respond, my father finished reading and handed the invitation to Mom before leaning forward and giving me a hug.

"Congratulations Lily! This is quite an honor," he says. My mother finished reading it then too and looked up at me, smiling as well.

"Oh, this is so wonderful! I'm making a pudding just for the occasion," she says. I smile. Mom's puddings are fantastic.

"So, does this mean I can go?" I ask, ecstatic. I had honestly been expecting at least one of them to insist that I don't go.

"Well, we'll have to talk it over Lily, we never said you could necessarily go," my dad says. I can feel my face fall at his words.

"What? But what about this being an honor and everything that you just said 2 minutes ago?" I say.

"Well, it still is a wonderful honor. The top 60, that is truly amazing. But as I said, we will have to talk about it," Dad says.

"But what is the point of being honored like this if I don't even get to go to the ball?" I ask poutingly.

"I said we'll talk about it Lily. I didn't say no or yes yet. Now go up and brush your teeth, you have morning breath."

I sigh in frustration and stomp up the stairs and towards the bathroom. They had better let me go to this ball. I don't know what I'd do if they say no! And they had really better talk about it quickly, because we have to send an owl back by a week from now.

When I finished brushing my teeth, I set off down the hall for my room. I get out quill and ink, and begin to write to my friend Shana on a spare bit of parchment on my desk, but then I pause. Shana, although a complete beauty, has always had a bit of trouble with school. It is doubtful that she would have gotten invited to the ball, and I don't want to make her feel bad.

I sigh and crumple up the parchment I had addressed to her and throw it against the wall in frustration. My life always seems to be like this. Whenever it seems like something good happens, it turns horrible. I am invited to a wonderful ball and I may not even be able to go. I have a cute boy 'crushing' on me, and it turns out to be James Bloody Potter. And oh, don't even get me started on him.

I lay down on the bed and stare up at the ceiling as I hear my sister stomp down the stairs, mad at my dad for not waking her up earlier. I sigh and turn over. This is my life. And it sure as hell isn't any fairy tale.

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**James's P.O.V.**

"Ohhhh JAMSIE BOY!" What the hell? I roll over and put a pillow over my head to block out the annoying sound of Sirius's voice.

"James! Come on, get up! Look what came for you," he says, walking into the room and sitting on my legs, making it hard for me to kick him, which was originally my plan.

"What?" I groan, pulling my legs out from under him and blearily sitting up.

"Look," he says, shoving an envelope under my nose. I frown. It is much too early for our Hogwarts letters to come. We just got home a week ago for heaven's sake!

I grumbled and opened it, unsure of what I was going to find, the only thought on my mind going back to sleep. I found a formal-looking letter inside the envelope and I read it, my interest growing with every word. A ball?

"What do you think? Isn't that cool?" Sirius said. James nodded.

"Yeah. You got one too?" I ask. Sirius and I would rule this thing!

"No, are you kidding me? I am definitely not one of the top 60 students on the continent. But Remus got one," Sirius said. I smiled. At least I would have one friend. Then a sudden thought hits me.

"Lily!" I say. Sirius rolls his eyes.

"Good God, is that woman all you can think about?" Sirius says exasperatedly.

"No, well yes, but I mean, she probably got invited too! She's so frickin smart. I could go, and win her love! And the good thing is that she won't even know that it's me, because she can't see me," I say. The whole plan forms in my head instantly. I know exactly what to do. Sweep her off of her feet and get her to fall in love with me without really knowing it's me.

"Good plan mate. That'll surely work!" Sirius says. I can't tell if he is being sarcastic or not. I turn to look at his face. Oh yeah, he is being sarcastic.

"Shut up. And let me go back to sleep!" I say, suddenly remembering that I am in fact still in my pajamas, lying in bed.

"No, your mom wanted me to get you up anyway, it's 10:30," Sirius says. I sigh and complain as he drags me out of bed and towards the door. As soon as I make it into the kitchen I am assaulted by some screaming thing that turns out to be my mother.

"Oh, James! I am so proud of you! You got invited to the Worthington ball! I didn't even go to that," she says. I sigh and mumble that its not a big deal as Sirius smirks at me over her shoulder.

"I'm making eggs!" she says, moving away from me and over to the stove where she begins loading a plate up with scrambled eggs. My favorite. I smile and begin eating, still thinking about my new plan to win over Lily Evans. Only this time it's different– it'll work.

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Okay, done! Will James's plan work? Or will it all go to hell in a nice pretty little handbasket? Hmm? Well, review and the next chapter will come soon! REVIEW!


	2. Preparations

**Masquerade! **

**Chapter two: Preparations**

**Disclaimer: **I own anything you don't recognize. All other stuff ain't mine.

**A/N: **Okay, so here is the next chapter!! Thanks to all of my wonderful reviewers from last chapter! And please review after this one if you liked it! And also, this story is going to be changing point of view a lot, James to Lily to James etc. Hope it's not too confusing!

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**Lily's P.O.V.**

"Lily, turn your face to the side," I sigh and turn my face to the left and Shana begins to apply eye shadow to my right eye. She is standing in front of me, doing my make up for the masquerade ball, which is tonight.

After a lot of persuading and begging, my parents finally said I could go. I went shopping with my mom about a week ago, and found the perfect dress. But I'll get to that later.

"I still don't get why I need to have this much make up on. You do know I'm going to be wearing a mask, right?" I say as Shana puts away the eye shadow and pulls out some mascara.

"Yes, but let's say you find some amazingly wonderful guy and you dance the night away, then the clock strikes midnight and you take off your mask so he can see your real face and you don't have any make up on at all. How terrible would that be?" She says. I roll my eyes.

"I highly doubt that I'm going to be meeting an amazingly wonderful guy tonight," I say. She clicks her tongue disapprovingly.

"You shouldn't be so doubtful, Lily," she says, putting the make up away and getting out a hair brush to start doing my hair.

"Yeah, yeah. But listen, about my hair, I think I want to change the color of it for tonight," I say, making her gape at me like an idiot.

"What? Why in the world would you want to do that? Your hair is so beautiful!" she asks, appalled.

"But it's too much of a give-away. The lady who sent the letters out said that we had to make sure we couldn't be recognized, and tell me how many other people have this red of hair?"I say. Shana pauses. I can tell that she sees my point, but she doesn't want to agree with me, as she has always loved my hair.

"Fine," she says after a moment, "What do you want to do with it?"

"I want it to be brown and straight. And be just about the length of my shoulders. Maybe a little bit longer," I answer, "Can you do that?"

Shana nods and waves her wand. In an instant my hair is just as I described it to her. She really does have a way with beauty charms. I wouldn't be surprised if she grew up to be a hair stylist or something of the sort.

"Oh, look at that!" I say, feeling my new hair. Its perfectly straight, which is something I've always wanted. My normal hair, although I love the color, is a curly/wavy mess. It takes too much work to get it to cooperate.

"Do you want to style it?" she asks.

"No way, I love this straight hair. Maybe just put a charm on it so that it stays perfectly straight like this all night, no matter how much dancing I do?" I say, and she instantly waves her wand again, saying another charm.

"Thank you so much," I say, smiling at my friend. She smiles back.

"Anytime. So, do you want to get dressed now?" I nod and walk over to my closet, where my beautiful dress is hanging. I gingerly take it off the hanger and step into it.

The dress is a beautiful shade of green, one that matches my eyes perfectly. It is strapless and has a tight bodice with a flowery design on the top of it. It has a large, full skirt on the bottom, with a little bit of the same flowery embroidery on the left side of it. In my opinion, it is the perfect dress.

"Oh, wow! Lily you look so beautiful!" Shana says when I walk over to her, with my dress on. I hadn't let her see my dress before hand, and I'm glad. The look on her face is priceless.

"Thanks," I say, blushing slightly and looking down.

"It matches your eyes exactly! Oh no, please tell me you aren't going to change your eyes!" she says. I smile.

"No, I'm not. I like my eyes," I say, and I can see the look of relief spread across her face.

"Good, because your eyes are too beautiful to change" she says, "Where is your mask?" I pick up the mask from my bedside table and put it on my face. My mask is the same color as my dress, and has feathers on it, sticking out on the sides to create a kind of cat-eye shape. Shana gasps again.

"Wow, those look so good together," she says. I smile and together we head out of my room. The plan is that I am going to be taking a portkey from my house to the minestry, as I am not quite old enough to apparate yet and floo powder would be a mess. Could you imagine if I got soot on this beautiful dress?

I walk down the stairs, and my parents all ooh and ahh at me as I walk into the room they are in. My mom insists in taking about a billion pictures, and when she is finally done, I look at the clock on the wall. I have fifteen minutes until I am to leave by my portkey. I sigh and sit down on the couch, trying to read a magazine to calm my nerves. Of course it doesn't work, but it was worth a try I suppose.

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**James's P.O.V.**

"This looks funny," I say, turning to look at the muggle tuxedo I am wearing in the mirror.

"I agree. We should have just been able to wear dress robes," Remus says, examining his own clothing in the mirror.

"Why aren't you wearing dress robes again?" Sirius asks, trying to hold back his laughter.

"Because the theme is a muggle masquerade ball. Of course it doesn't really affect the girls much but for us guys, this is terrible," I say. I sigh, seeing there really isn't much left for me to do to these muggle clothes. I walk over to my bedside table and pick up my mask, holding it in my hands for a moment before putting it on my face. It is a plain silver mask, with a little bit of a black edging around the eye holes and the outside of it.

At first we thought my glasses were going to be a problem, since I couldn't fit the mask over them but Remus looked up this really nifty charm that will correct my vision for tonight only. I asked him if he could make it permanent but he regrettably told me it was just a temporary charm.

"Well, what do you think?" I ask, turning around to look at my friends.

"Handsome. If I were a girl I would date you," Sirius says. Remus and I look at him oddly.

"Um...thanks I guess?" I say. He smiles happily, obviously thinking he had just given me a really wonderful compliment.

"So what is the Lily Plan again?" Remus asks. I know he knows the plan back and forward, as I've told him many times, but he is just trying to change the subject. I smile and begin to explain it again.

"Well, first I find Lily. That shouldn't be too hard, since here hair is a dead giveaway. Then I get her to dance with me and fall in love with me. Then when we take our masks off she won't even care that its me, because I will have shown her the side of me that she has never seen before. And I'm not going to act like a prat at all!" I say proudly.

"Good plan mate," Sirius says.

"Thank you," I say. It is foolproof.

"We had better get going," Remus said, grabbing his mask and putting it on his face. His is dark blue in color, with white trimming on it.

"Yeah, when is the portkey for?" I ask as we walk down the stairs of my house, Sirius trailing behind us.

"Umm, oh shoot. 3 minutes from now! Come on," he says and we meander our way through the house to my front room, where my mom is sitting with the portkey, an old folded trench coat.

"Oh James!" She says, "You boys look wonderful!" I smile give her a hug.

"Thanks mom. I'll see you when I get home," I say, as Remus and I grab the coat from her.

"I want details mate!" Sirius says and Remus and I get into position, and I nod. A few moments later I feel the familiar sensation behind my navel and I am being pulled towards the ministry of magic, ready for the night when everything with Lily is going to change.

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So there you go! Do you think James's plan is going to work, even with Lily's hair changed? Gasp! The drama! Well, thanks for reading, and please REVIEW!


	3. The Best Laid Plans

**Masquerade!**

**Chapter three: The Best Laid Plans...**

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing. Even the chapter title– that is from a poem by Robert Burns.

**A/N: **Okay, so I don't have school today! Because of the freezing cold temperatures. This morning where I live it was -3 degrees outside. And no, I don't live in Alaska, I live in Michigan... which is why this is truly sick, haha. So anyway, I decided to update because... I can. And because I got a lot of reviews last chapter. You guys rock! So I hope you like this chapter, and please REVIEW when you are done!

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**Lily's P.O.V.**

The moment I step into the room where the ball is being held I am overcome by everything that is going on. The hall is decorated beautifully. Ice sculptures and trees fill the room, and it is clear that the theme is supposed to be a wintery one.

There is a large dance floor in the center of the room, and there are a few couples already out there dancing. I look around and decide there is only one thing to do now– mingle. I walk over to a lonely looking girl who is standing off to the side of the room and introduce myself.

"Violetta," she says in a foreign accent, shaking my hand. We talk for a few minutes, and I learn that she is from Bulgaria. Bulgaria! Imagine that. Suddenly there is a dinging sound that rings throughout the hall. Violetta and I turn our attention to see Dumbledore standing at the front of the room, holding a glass and a spoon in his hands. I suspect that is where the ding came from.

"Welcome, everyone, to the 35th annual Worthington Masquerade ball. We are about to begin the evenings activities, so if you will all make your way to a table, we will be serving dinner," Dumbledore says. It is then that I realize there are tables scattered all throughout the hall, each with about 4 or 5 place settings on them.

"Do you want to go find some seats?" I say to Violetta, but when I turn around I see that she is already sitting at a table occupied by two boys, waving me over. I smile and walk over to the empty seat between her and a boy wearing a black tux and a silver mask.

"Hi," I say, waving to the boy next to me. However, he doesn't hear me, as he is currently looking around the hall for something. Or, more likely, someone.

"Hello?" I say again, and this time he notices me. He turns around and smiles at me.

"So sorry, I didn't hear you," he says. I roll my eyes but smiled back at him all the same.

"Were you looking for someone?" I ask.

"Erm, well, kind of," he says.

"A girlfriend?" I ask, slightly disappointed, as this boys is extremely sexy.

"No. Not a girlfriend, just... a girl. That I like. A lot," he says, chuckling nervously. I smile and nod my head, but he has already turned away, searching again for whatever girl he is looking for.

"Prongs, you are being rude," says the boy next to him, who had until now been chatting politely with Violetta.

"...Huh? Did you say something Moony?" the boy called Prongs says, turning back around to face the center of the table. Moony chuckles.

"Nope, not a thing," he says, letting Prongs go back to his search.

"So, Prongs and Moony... those are interesting names," I say, frowning. Those names sound slightly familiar to me, in the very back of my mind. However, I just can't place them.

"Oh, well, they are nicknames," Moony answers.

"Ahh," I say in understanding. That certainly make a whole lot more sense. Because I mean really, what kind of parents would name their kid Prongs?

"So, where are you all from?" Violetta asks. However, before either of them can answer, Dumbledore begins to speak again.

"Thank you, to everyone, for coming here tonight. As I look out at all of you, I know that the next generation of the wizarding world will be filled with much success. And now, without further adu, dig in," he says. Instantly food appears on the tables in front of us, just as is does at Hogwarts at the beginning of year feast.

I look at all of the foreign foods in front of me and begin to load my plate. I look to my right and see that Prongs has, for the moment, stopped his search, and is currently stuffing his mouth with food. I grin and begin to eat as well, and the four of us spend dinner talking and laughing like old friends.

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**James's P.O.V.**

"I don't see her," I mutter to Remus as we stand up from our chairs at the table we were sitting at with two lovely girls.

"Well, keep looking I suppose," Remus says, "But promise me that you won't spend the entire night looking for her. If you don't find her in... 15 minutes, just ask another girl to dance. I don't want you to spend your whole night doing nothing because you are hung up on Evans," I sigh and look at Remus.

"I dunno..." I begin to say, but he cuts me off.

"Promise me!" he says. I look down and nod slowly. Suddenly a voice from my left pulls me out of my thoughts.

"Moony, would you like to dance," says Violetta, one of the girls who was sitting at the table with us. Remus smiles and nods, taking her hand.

"15 minutes!" he calls after me as he leads Violetta onto the dance floor.

"Yeah, yeah," I say under my breath. I then head off, looking around the room like a hawk for any sign of red hair.

Blonde... brown... black...blonde... purple? No red heads though! How infuriating. Oh wait! There! I see someone with brilliant red hair. Almost instantly I am running over in her direction, my heart rising up. When I reach her I tap her on the shoulder and she turns around.

"Hi. Would you care to grace me with a dance?" I ask. However, as soon as the words leave my mouth I realize that this is not Lily. For one thing, her eyes are a horrible shade of bland gray, not the wonderful green orbs I am used to. And also, she is looking at me with a look of complete and utter confusion.

"Je suis désolé. Je ne comprends pas anglais! Tu parles français?" she says. I stare at her with a look of mock confusion on my face before shrugging and walking away. Even though I speak French quite well, I saw no point in humoring her. It's not Lily anyway, so what is the point?

I walk over to one of the long table spread throughout the room that has a bowl of punch on it. I sigh and pour myself a glass before turning around and surveying the floor. I see Moony. He is still dancing with that girl, Violetta. He catches me looking and points to the clock on the wall. I sigh and look at it. Oh. 20 minutes have gone by. I nod at him, slightly annoyed, and look for a random girl to dance with just to make him happy. A blonde walks up to me and gets a glass of punch. Perfect.

"Excuse me, would to care to dance with me?" I ask. She smiles a brilliant smile at me and puts the cup she had picked up back on the table.

"I would love to" She says, nearly screaming. Wow, she has quite a shrill voice. And not good shrill, like Lily's when she is angry at me, but bad, annoying shrill. Perfect.

I fake a smile and lead her out to the dance floor. She grabs my hand and starts dancing horribly off beat. I let her lead, not really paying attention to what is going on, still looking over her shoulder for Lily.

Finally, after endless painful minutes of her stepping on my feet and shouting in my ears, the song ended. I quickly thank her for the dance and hurry away before she causes anymore damage to my body. I see Remus standing on the edge of the dance floor and walk over to him. He is talking to Violetta, but seconds before I reach them she walks away, presumably to go get drinks.

"Hey Moony," I say, stopping where he is standing.

"Hi Prongs, who was that girl you were dancing with? The blonde?" He asks. Um... what was her name?

"I'm honestly not quite sure. I didn't exactly listen to anything she said," I answer. He glares at me.

"Prongs You promised me 15 minutes and you were done looking for Lily! You can't spend your entire life waiting for her to come around, you know. And who knows, you may just find someone here you'll like better. Just give someone a chance" Remus said, agitated. I look at him, and it took me a total of 5 seconds to see that he was right.

"You are right, Moony. I can't spend my whole life waiting for Lily, because I'll miss things that way. Important things," I say.

"I agree," Moony said, acting like he wasn't the person who thought of it in the first place.

"Here you go Moony," Violetta says, coming over to where Remus and I are. I grin. She is still calling him Moony.

"Thanks. I was just talking to my friend Prongs here," Remus says, taking the cup she is holding out to him.

"Hi," she says, turning her attention to me. I say hi back, and before I can say anything else, her friend from earlier who was at dinner with us comes over.

"Hi Violetta, Moony," she says. She then turns her attention to me, and I can see her frown slightly behind her mask.

"Prongs," I say, saving her the trouble of racking her pretty little brains to think of it.

"Right, I knew that," she says. I smile at her, and suddenly a new song comes on, one slower than the one that had been playing before.

"Would you like to dance Violetta?" Remus asks shyly. She nods and he leads her onto the dance floor. I look after him, smiling.

I then look over to where the girl is still standing, and I realize she is quite pretty. She has a nice figure, and although her brown hair is nothing like Lily's, it is beautiful as well. Without even a second of thought I ask her if she wants to dance with me. After all, Remus really is right, I should take advantage of the situation and use it to actually meet people.

"Sure," she smiles at me, and I cautiously grab her hand, leading her out to the dance floor. I put my hand on her waist and she looks at me and smiles. It is then that I see her eyes. They are a brilliant shade of green, just like Lily's. But this girl's hair is brown...

I sigh and shrug it off, just losing myself in the moment, all the while staring deep into her large green orbs.

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Okay so there ya go! I'll update soon if you review, hopefully by Saturday. But not promises, because the next chapter is only about ½ done... but REVIEW! And it'll make me want to write it! So REVIEW!!

P.S. The French meant: "I'm sorry, I don't understand English. Do you speak French?"


	4. Shocking Discoveries

**Masquerade!**

**Chapter Four: Shocking Discoveries**

**Disclaimer: **If you seriously think I own any of this shit, you are seriously delusional.

**A/N: **Here is chapter 4! Woot! I hope you like it! And thank you sooo much to all of my reviewers, you guys make my day! So go on and read this chapter... and REVIEW at the end!

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**Lily's P.O.V.**

This is the fourth dance we are dancing together. He really is a wonderful dancer, he hasn't stepped on my foot once. Ouch. Okay, maybe once.

He still has yet to tell me his real name- I'm still calling him Prongs. We decided just not to tell each other until midnight when we take our masks off. It certainly makes it more fun that way, doesn't it? He is calling me Feather due to the fact that I have a million feathers on my mask. Cute, huh?

The song ends, and a slower one starts to play. I smile at him and move in closer. Instantly he puts his hands around my waist as mine snake up around his shoulders.

"I'm having a lot of fun tonight," I say. Our faces are only inches away from each other.

"Same here, Feather," he says. I smile and stare deep into his hazel eyes. His eyes are just so beautiful.

"So tell me about yourself. I mean I assume you are smart since you are here, but what else?" I say. For some reason Prongs intrigues me, and I want to know more about him.

"Well, there isn't really much to tell. My favorite game is quiddich... I like swimming... gobstones... transfiguration... um... that's about it" he said.

"I don't like transfiguration very much," I answer, "It's too difficult. And I am much too impatient. I prefer charms." He nods his head in genuine interest.

"My friend likes charms as well. I don't really see how, I'm no good at it," he said, "I like defense against the dark arts a ton though. I'm thinking about being an auror."

"I like defense too. I think I might want to be an auror also," I say. Wow, I've actually never told anyone that before. Not many women are aurors, and I've been afraid people are going to think I'm crazy, or that I have a death wish or something. But somehow I know Prongs isn't going to care.

"Well then we have that in common," he says, smiling his lopsided smile once again. I grin back at him, and find myself leaning in closer to him.

I feel lightning jolt through my entire body as our lips touch. Our kiss only lasts a brief moment before we pull away, but it was wonderful all the same. He smiles at me again, his beautiful lopsided smile that seems oh so familiar to me.

I return his smile and lean in for another kiss, this one lasting longer than the former. I pull back reluctantly a little while later and look into his eyes again.

"Do you want to get some drinks?" he asks as the song ends. I smile and nod, and we walk off the dance floor together, hand in hand.

I see Violetta sitting at a table, and I pull Prongs over to her.

"Hi," she says, smiling broadly as we sit down.

"Hey there. Is Moony getting drinks?" Prongs asks as I sit down next to Violetta.

"Yes," she responds.

"Alright, well, I'll be back in a moment my lovely Feather," Prongs says and I giggle softly.

"Feather?" Violetta asks, smirking.

"Yeah... we decided not to tell each other our real names until midnight when we take our masks off."

"That's cute," she answers. I smile and turn my head, looking at Prongs as he walks off. There is just something about him, something irresistible.

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**James's P.O.V.**

I walk away from Feather where is sitting next to her friend Violetta to go get drinks. Remus is over by the drinks as well, and I walk up to him.

"She's great Moony," I say. Remus smiles.

"Who?" he asks, smirking. I know he must be pleased with himself because I listened to his advice, and I'm ending up having such a wonderful time.

"Feather..." I answer somewhat dreamily. I then realize Remus is looking at me like I'm insane, and I decide to elaborate.

"Violetta's friend. With the brown hair," I answer.

"Ahh," Remus says in understanding, smirking at me, "I don't think I'm even going to ask about the name" I laugh at this.

"It's just a nickname. But you know, this is amazing. I never really knew what it was like to like someone and have them like you back!" I say. I know it probably sounds kind of childish or silly, but I just can't get over it.

Remus chuckles and grabs the two drinks he had just poured. I take mine too and together we head back to where the girls are seated.

I hand Feather her drink and sit down next to her, sipping my punch thoughtfully and trying to hide the fact that I am looking at her. I sneak a glance towards the clock and see that it's about 9:30. Only two and a half hours before the dance is over. I wish it would last longer. After a few minutes of laughing, talking, and drinking our drinks, I take her hand and we stand up.

I start to lead her towards the dance floor, and when we get on the floor I swing her around and she smiles as we start dancing again.

"So let's play a game," Feather says. I grin.

"Alright. What game?" I ask.

"20 questions. I'll ask you a question, then you ask me one," she says. I shrug.

"Alright. You go first," I say.

"Um... what position do you play in Quiddich," she says.

"Chaser. I used to be a seeker but then I changed position when we got this really good seeker about two years ago. I was never that good at seeker anyway," I answer. Two years ago a kid named Charlie Weasley joined the team. He's about ten times better at seeker than I'd ever been, but I found chaser to be my calling anyway.

"Huh, the same thing happened to my friend," Feather says, "Anyway, your turn now,"

"Alright. Is that your natural eye color, or is it some kind of beauty spell?" I ask, saying the first thing that comes to my mind, as I am currently staring deep into her green orbs. I guess I must just have a thing for girls with green eyes. She smiles and blushes, looking down for a moment.

"They're natural. But this isn't my natural hair color," she says. I'm shocked, as it looks so pretty.

"Then what is your natural hair color?" I ask. However she just smiles and shakes her head.

"One question per turn," I chuckle.

"Alright, alright," I say, "It's your turn then." She looks thoughtful for a moment, before she turns her attention back to me, smirking slightly.

"What ever happened to that girl you were looking for? At dinner?" she asks. I chuckle and look at her.

"I don't think she's here. But it doesn't matter anyway, since I found someone better anyways," I say pointedly, looking at her. She smiles and looks down briefly before looking up again and meeting my eyes.

"You know, I'm not usually this bashful around guys," she says, "I guess you are just different that a lot of the boys I know. Most of them are jerks anyway."

"That's a shame," I say. She laughs and I stare at her, memorized for a moment by her beauty. I lean forward and kiss her lightly again, feeling happier than I can remember being in quite a while.

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**Lily's P.O.V.**

Only five minutes are left until midnight, when the ball is over. I am amazed at how fast it has gone by, and I'm saddened by it too. I've spent more or less my entire night with Prongs, and I seriously like him. A lot. I'm definitely going to make an effort to keep in touch with him.

Even though I found out so much about him, I still don't know his name. Like we had agreed on earlier, we are going to find out who the other is at midnight. That is the only reason I am even remotely looking forward to the end of the dance.

"The dance is almost over," Prongs whispers in my ear. We are, once again, dancing.

"I know," I say back. I feel him pull me slightly closer and I don't object. This is probably pretty close to the definition of a perfect moment. I just really don't want it to end.

"Students, this is going to be the last song of the night, so find yourself a dance partner and get on the floor!" Comes the jolly voice of Dumbledore from the front of the room. I turn to see him standing in front of the band, and I swear I see him glance over at me, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

"Well, I think I'm going to go find myself a dance partner then," Prongs says jokingly, pretending to pull away.

"Don't you dare move," I respond, keeping a tight hold on him.

"I wouldn't dream of it my lovely lady," Prongs responded. And right at that moment I realize who Prongs reminds me of– James Potter.

"I finally figured out who you remind me of," I say to him.

"Really, who?" he asks with interest.

"Oh, well you wouldn't know him. It's just a boy I go to school with. Only you really are nothing like him, because he has a habit of acting like a total prat, and you aren't pratty at all," I respond. He chuckles.

"Well thanks for the compliment," Prongs answers. I smile too and look over his shoulder. One minute.

"It's one minute to midnight!" I say, pulling back from him slightly so I can look him in the face. Adrenaline starts pumping through my veins, and I am suddenly happy that Shana made me put on some make up.

"At the stroke of midnight, we take our masks off, agreed?" James asks. I laugh and nod.

"And then you are telling me your full name so I can write to you," I say.

"Of course," He answers. My gaze is fixed on the clock on the wall behind him, waiting... waiting...

"Ten... nine... eight..." I start to mutter. He laughs and joins in on my counting.

"Seven...six...five...four...three...two...ONE!"

I whip off my mask as the clock strikes midnight, smiling excitedly. I smooth down my already perfectly straight hair (I need to learn how to do that spell) and look at Prongs, receiving quite a shock, for standing in front of me is...

"POTTER?!"

Oh, shit.

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Phew! Done! This chapter took me a while to write, because I couldn't decide where I wanted it to go.

So... what will Lily's reaction be next chapter when in sinks in that she was talking to James, dancing with James, even _kissing _James? Will she get over it and realized the fact that he's not all that bad? Or will she insist on being the stubborn little bugger we all know she is? Find out next chapter! REVIEW!

And if anyone has any suggestions or ideas of what should come next, TELL ME!! I might just use them!!

So REVIEW!


	5. Happily Ever After?

**Masquerade!**

**Chapter Five: Happily ever after?**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything you recognize...

**A/N: **Heyy whats up y'all? HERE IS THE LAST CHAPTER OF MASQUERADE! (Sob sob, tear tear) But I'm actually pretty proud that I finished this because excluding one-shots and 101 Pick up lines, which wasn't that hard to write, THIS IS MY FIRST EVER FINISHED FIC!

So please do me a favor and REVIEW at the end!! Please!! I'll love you forever!

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**James's P.O.V.**

"POTTER?!" I stare blankly at the person in front of me. Her face is definitely Lily's as was her voice and certainly her reaction, but I have a hard time believing it with the brown hair on her head.

"Lily?" I ask, just to make sure.

"Of course it's me, who else would it be?" she snaps, putting her hands on her waist.

"Did you die your hair?!" I ask, horrified. Why on earth would she do that?!

"What? Oh, it's just a charm," Lily says dismissively, pulling out her wand and flicking it, turning her hair back to it's wavy auburn beauty.

"So, Lily, it was you the whole time?" I ask, still having trouble grasping the idea.

"No, half the time it was my evil twin Lolly. Of course it was me you imbecile!" Imbecile... haven't heard that one in a while...

"I'm sorry, Lily, this is just kind of hard to believe," I say. She looks at me with anger written on her face.

"Hard for you to believe? I spent my whole night with James Potter! The prat of the world!" Lily yells at me. It's kind of a good thing a lot of people have already left because she is causing quite a scene.

"Hey, you just said that I wasn't being a prat at all!" I argue back. She huffs and crosses her arms.

"Well, I didn't know it was you then. And besides, I'm sure you were just acting," Lily answers.

"What? I didn't know it was you either! Why would I be acting if I didn't know it was you?" I ask. She just stares at me, anger still dominating her flawless features. She isn't saying anything, so I take the moment to get a few more words in.

"Why is it impossible for you to see me for who I am?" I ask quietly. She doesn't say anything for a moment, before suddenly she says she has to go and she turns away from me.

"Lily, stop," I yell after her, reaching out to grab her arm. She slowly turns around to look at me.

"What, Potter?" She says. I can tell she is trying to snap at me, but it doesn't quite come out that way.

"James. My name is James," I tell her quietly. She looks down at her feet briefly, before looking back up at me.

"What, James?" She says. Are those tears in her eyes? I didn't mean to make her cry!

"Lily, what is wrong? Why are you crying?" I ask worriedly. I've never been too good with girls' emotions.

"Why am I crying? Because I just spent my whole night with this amazing guy, and then I find out that it's you. James Potter. The guy who only wants me so he can brag to his friends that he scored another hot chick," Lily yells. I stare at her in shock. Is that really what she thinks of me?

"Lily, what on earth are you talking about? That's not it at all!" I insist. She just huffs.

"Yeah right," she mutters. She looks like she is about to walk away again, but she doesn't, thankfully.

"Lily, where on Earth did you get that idea?" I ask.

"It's common knowledge," she says. I shake my head in disbelief.

"Well, it's not true, Lily. I like you because you are different and beautiful and smart. Believe me, if I was just trying to get inside your pants, I would have given up after you rejected me the first 20 times back in 5th year. Why did you think I kept going at it?" I ask her. She just looks down and shrugs. I put my hand gently on her shoulder and feel her shiver slightly at my touch.

She looks up at me, and for a moment I think she is going to kiss me, or do something of the sort. But then she pulls away sharply, shaking her head.

"No, I, uh, I gotta go, James," she says, starting to back away again.

"Lily, wait!" I yell desperately, chasing after her. She stops and turns around to look at me.

"What?" she asks softly.

"Lily, if you walk away, I don't think I'll be able to stand it," I tell her.

"Why is that?" she asks.

"Because, Lily, I just fell in love with you all over again. I just fell in love with you, and I didn't even know it was you! Now if you can honestly stand there, and tell me that tonight didn't mean anything to you, that it was all just a joke, or a way to pass the time, then I won't bother you again. I just need to know what you are thinking, because to stand here and look at you and know that there is nothing I can do is killing me!" Jesus, when did I become such a sap? This girl is making me into such a pussy!

I look at Lily intently, waiting for her reaction, trying to read her body language. She looks down, wipes her eyes, and then looks back up at me, shaking her head a little bit. Why is she shaking her head?! Is that a no? I can feel my heart breaking into a thousand pieces as I stand there. I slowly back away.

"Alright, that's cool. I won't ask you out anymore, I won't talk to you, I won't even look at you! Okay? That's fine," I say. I look at her for a moment longer, and then I turn around and walk away, hanging my head in defeat. I tried, and I failed. Life is just peachy, isn't it?

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**Lily's P.O.V.**

What have I just done? Did I really just say no to James Potter? Am I insane? I could see in the way that he looked at me before he walked away me how much he cared. And to be honest, I care about him too. So then why did I say no? I'm not even sure.

I sigh, and look down. I am such an idiot, what has he ever done to me? Well, besides all of the pranks and the tricks and the embarrassing moments. Besides all of that, nothing at all!

"Lily," I turn around when I hear my name and see Remus standing behind me. He must have been James's friend, the person who was dancing with Violetta. Why didn't I put that together sooner?

"What just happened?" he asks softly.

"I'm not really sure," I say, "But I think I just told James I didn't like him at all, that I didn't feel anything tonight,"

"Is that true?" Remus asks. I look at him, thinking for a moment, before I answer.

"No, it's not. I like him, tonight was amazing. But..."

"But what?" he presses. I shake my head.

"I don't know! It's James Potter! It's just... I don't know!" I say desperately.

"Lily, listen to me. James really likes you a lot, and it's not fair to him to do this. If you like him, go out there and find him. Because if you don't, you both will live your whole lives wondering what could have been. And I know that neither of you want that," Remus says.

"You're right. I've got to go take care of something," I say, before dashing off.

I weave my way through the multitudes of people, looking for James. Please, please, _please_ don't let it be too late!

"Where are you?" I whisper to myself, looking around the crowds of people. I turn a corner and see someone looking out of a window into the pouring rain. What a gloomy mood for the people to have picked for the fake weather. One would think that it would be sunny on the night of such an elegant ball.

The person looking out the window turns his head slightly and I see that it is James. Score! I find my self running desperately towards him, and he turns his head to look at me, shocked.

"James!" I yell as I bound towards him. When I reach him I throw my arms around him, pulling him into a huge hug. He pulls away a moment later, looking me directly in the eyes.

"Lily, what is going on?" he asks.

"James, I'm sorry I said no in the first place, I didn't really know what I was doing. I guess I was just so overwhelmed by everything that was going on. But I like you James, a lot. And... and I don't want to spend the rest of my life wondering what could have been," I say, finishing up with Remus's line. I'm sure he won't mind.

James stares at me in disbelief and I wait, wondering what he is going to say. Suddenly he cracks a smile, and I smile widely back at him.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to hear you say that. Or at least something along those lines," he says, running a hand through his hair in relief.

"Well... are you going to kiss me or not?" I say, smiling at him mischievously. He grins and leans toward me, our lips colliding. This kiss is definitely a million times better than the ones earlier tonight because there is so much built up passion behind it. It's incredible.

When we both pull away a few minutes later, we do it with reluctance. I find myself panting slightly, and I look up at James. Both of us have smiles a mile wide on our faces.

He kisses me again, and I melt into his arms. If this is the way it's going to be from now on, I think I will definitely be able to get used to it.

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I bet you guys all wet yourselves when I had James walk away, right? Hee hee, I am soo good. So I hope you liked reading this chapter as much as I liked writing it. And please don't forget to REVIEW!!!


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